Indice dei contenuti per 2023-06-12 in Cape Times

THE DEPARTMENT of Public Enterprises (DPE) has asked for a delay before appearing before Parliament’s Portfolio Committee to answer to allegations of misconduct raised by dismissed Director-General (D-G) Kgatsato Tlhakudi in the process of appointing Takatso as majority owner of South African Airways, as well as relating to operational shortfalls of the department. This follows Thlakudi appearing before the committee on a scheduled appointment, though he had been formally fired by the Department of Justice and Correctional Services two days prior. In a letter to committee chairperson Khaya Magaxa, Minister Pravin Gordhan said the department sought to postpone its appearance before the committee this Wednesday, pending its securing transcripts of Thlakudi’s presentation. The only document the department had was the presentation of the former D-G. The Department did not have…

AVERAGE salaries continue to fall in South Africa, in real and nominal terms, with actual (nominal) take-home pay recording R15 063 in April 2023, versus R15 335 in April 2021 and R15 345 in April 2022, Investec chief economist Annabel Bishop said in a note on Friday. The second quarter would likely see CPI inflation drop below 6% year-on-year, but salary and wage increases were not expected to occur that would be sufficient to make up for the loss in spending ability in either real or nominal terms, she said. "The declining renumeration trend that households had been facing this decade to date had been a key reason for poor growth, and so employment outcomes in the economy, as demand was muted, and also in non self-generation…

THE country’s biggest trade union federations have welcomed the moves to introduce the “two-pot” retirement system which would allow workers to access at least a third of their pensions while still economically active. The SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) said the proposal would provide much-needed relief to workers battling to make ends meet because of high living costs. The National Treasury and Sa Revene Servive (SARS) last week published for public comment the revised 2023 Draft Revenue Laws Amendment Bill and 2023 Draft Revenue Administration and Pension Laws Amendment Bill. They said the draft bills provide the necessary legislative amendments required to implement the first phase of the “two-pot” retirement system. Members of the public have until July 15 to comment on the bills. The bills, if passed, will…

WHILE South Africa grapples with how to handle the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) warrant of arrest for Russian President Vladimir Putin should he attend the BRICS summit, Justice Minister Ronald Lamola has confirmed that the government is mulling over a legislative amendment that would domesticate the ICC's Rome Statute. This includes provision of Article 98 of the statute that requires a waiver of immunities for persons charged by the ICC from third party countries where there was no referral by the United Nations Security Council, he said. South Africa has recently come under criticism after it gazetted the notice for Diplomatic Immunities and Privileges Act, which Cabinet maintained was a standard practice for international summits held in the country. The notice was deemed by some as part of measures to…

BY using artificial intelligence, virtual reality and augmented reality as art mediums - visual art exhibition, “Spiritual Technology” by the Magolide Collective looks at the relationship between spirituality and digital technologies to explore whether this contributes to our experience and understanding of spirituality. Johannesburg-based artists, Adilson De Oliveira and Mzoxolo ‘X’Mayongo ‘(X’, formerly Christopher), a duo who practise together as the Magolide Collective, currently have their first solo exhibition running at Cape Town’s WorldArt gallery. The Magolide Collective works to transform a barrage of historical narratives, cultural events, and academic texts – into visual renderings that incorporate performance, digital and video media, and more traditional disciplines like printmaking. These notions are creatively accomplished through the use of a decolonial lens and performative satire to provoke and challenge the power structures…

CAPTURED fugitive and Rwandan national Ukiliho Fulgence has yet to decide if he will apply for bail after his legal team received a lengthy charge sheet with 54 charges against him. Fulgence was arrested on a grape farm in Paarl on May 24 as one of the world’s most wanted genocide fugitives. He is alleged to have orchestrated the killing of 2 000 Tutsi refugees – women, men, children and elderly – at the Nyange Catholic Church during the 1994 genocide of Tutsis in Rwanda. He has been at large since 2001. The SA Operational Task Team set up to arrest him comprised the SAPS’s crime intelligence unit, the departments of Home Affairs, International Relations and Co-operation, Justice, as well as the National Prosecuting Authority led by the Hawks. Fulgence…

ANOTHER taxi driver has been shot and killed, this time while sitting in his vehicle opposite a stadium in Paarl at the weekend. The latest incident follows the killing of Paarl Alliance Taxi Association (Pata) chairperson Siyabulela Mandyoli, who was shot dead at his house in Mbekweni on Tuesday. Police confirmed a case of murder was under investigation, with detectives from the Provincial Serious and Violent Crime: Taxi Violent Unit having been assigned to probe the matter. “According to reports on June 10 at 8.45am (2023-06-10 at 08:45), SAPS members attended an incident of shooting at Jan van Riebeeck Road opposite the stadium. where they were informed over radio about a person who has been shot and still sitting in a car. The members found the deceased sitting in the…

SOUTH Africans have reason to breathe a sigh of relief when they have successfully pushed back against what appeared to be an attempt to cover up Eskom’s financial shortcomings. Had it not been for the outrage of South Africans, Eskom would have been partially exempt from disclosing irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure in its 2022/23, 2023/24, and 2024/25 annual financial statements. This would have been a travesty of our constitutional democracy, which is underpinned by transparency, especially at Eskom where malfeasance has threatened to collapse South Africa’s economy. Eskom has recently been allocated R254 billion in debt relief, consisting of R78 billion for the 2023/24 financial year; R66 billion for the 2024/25 financial year; and R40 billion for the 2025/26 financial year. Therefore, its finances – no matter how bad…

Thousands of people living near a Philippine volcano have taken shelter in evacuation centres as officials warned yesterday of health risks from ash and toxic gases spewing from the rumbling crater. Seismology researchers said they had recorded at least one volcanic earthquake in the past 24 hours and red-hot rocks were falling from Mount Mayon in the central province of Albay. More than 12 800 people have been moved to evacuation centres, the Philippine civil defence office said, most from farming villages at or near the foot of the volcano. “We’re away from our home, but it’s still better here because it’s too dangerous,” mother-of-two Rachel Ramirez, 30, said during her third day at a school near the town of Daraga that had been turned into an emergency shelter. Mayon,…

Former Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon was yesterday arrested as part of an investigation into financial irregularities, according to police. “A woman, 52, has been arrested in connection with the ongoing investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National Party,” Police Scotland said, with British media confirming her identity as Sturgeon. The woman was in custody and is being questioned by detectives, police said. It is the third arrest in the probe, which is sending shockwaves through Scotland’s political system. Sturgeon’s husband, Peter Murrell, the former chief executive of the SNP, was arrested in April. Murrell has long faced questions over the alleged diversion of £600 000 (R14 million) in SNP donations meant to support its drive for Scottish independence. He also failed to declare a personal loan to…

Butner: Ted Kaczynski, better known as the Unabomber, was found dead in his prison cell, federal officials confirmed to the media. Kaczynski, 81, killed three people and injured 23 more during a mass mail-bombing spree between 1978 and 1995. He later pleaded guilty to his crimes. He was sentenced to life without parole in 1996 after evading capture for almost 20 years. The Harvard-trained mathematician was caught in a Montana cabin. Kaczynski spent the past three decades held at prisons across the US, most recently at the Federal Medical Centre in Butner, North Carolina. The cause of death was not clear. | IANS…

Rome: Pope Francis’s recovery from his recent hernia operation was steady, his doctors said yesterday. Francis underwent a three-hour operation at the Gemelli hospital in Rome, the latest health procedure for the 86-year-old leader of the Catholic Church. The doctors said the pope does not have a fever and has completed respiratory physiotherapy. He had lunch with those assisting him in his convalescence. All papal audiences have been cancelled until June 18, but the pope resumed work from his hospital room on Friday. Francis was suffering from a hernia on the site of a scar from a previous surgery. | AFP…

ESKOM said the placement of the R500 million Fidelity Services security contract was in line with Eskom’s Procurement Procedure and the National Treasury directives for emergency procurement of services, the utility said in a statement yesterday. There have been publications on various media and internet platforms of unverified messages and claims of corruption and fraud linked to the contract. “Given the seriousness of such allegations, Eskom will work with the relevant authorities on any investigation,” it said. The placement of the security contract had been necessitated by information received by management indicating that there was a potential serious security risk to Eskom's operations and assets. The contract was established from the period July 2022 to September 2022 with an estimated budget of R500m. It was placed under emergency procurement…

Ramokgopa reveals plans for power cuts PROVIDING uninterrupted electricity supply to the country’s 137 hospitals would cost the state R10 billion when securing alternative energy. This is according to Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa who has confirmed that Eskom currently exempts or partially exempts only 25 public health establishments within its area of supply. He disclosed these details when responding to IFP chief whip Narend Singh’s parliamentary questions about the immediate steps being taken to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply to critical services such as water and sanitation pump stations, hospitals and other essential services. Singh also wanted to know whether there was a plan to establish separate reticulation lines, dedicated transformers and substations for essential service providers as currently many essential services shared the same grid with surrounding residential areas,…

OUR brothers and sisters are drowning in drugs, prostitution and crime in the townships and Cape Flats. Days and months go by without families seeing them around, but no one regards them homeless. If we don’t bother ourselves to search for them around the nearest neighbourhoods, we might never see them again. Many parents have buried their children who were homeless or at risk of being homeless in these communities and life goes on just like that. Are councillors and other community leaders getting involved enough in assisting families and communities to address homelessness in townships? To curb this gap, I believe we need the establishment of programmes that will teach residents about what homelessness is in these communities. If we don’t start with this education aspect sooner, then…

AFTER having struggled for three years since the inception of the Western Cape Child Commissioner (WCCC),was formed, a premises for the office of the commissioner has been identified and will soon be moved into. This has been confirmed by both the Commissioner and provincial Department of Transport and Public Works (DTPW). In her recent annual 2020/2021 report, tabled in parliament, WCCC commissioner Christine Nomdo said they had “envisioned a child-friendly, fantasy house for the WCCC” but this was placed on hold for three years. However an Orange Street premises, in the CBD, had since been identified and was set to be ready in the coming months. The Commissioner is not empowered in law to own property and needs to be accommodated in existing government infrastructure. DTPW spokesperson, Jandre Bakker,…

THE mother of a missing 10-year-old from Eerste River is pleading for assistance in bringing her child, who has been missing for five days, home. This is after Buhle Mbandazayo was last seen leaving his Forest Village to go play with his friends on Wednesday. He was wearing a maroon jacket, beige tracksuit pants and push-in sandals. Noluthando Mbandazayo realised at about 12pm that her son was missing and began the frantic search. She said she was struggling to cope since the disappearance of her son. “I have been struggling to sleep and eat since he went missing. I just want him back home. He left with his friends to go play. When the other children came back, my son never did. I am very distraught and traumatised. Please just…

Weak enforcement of procurement legislation results in repeated violations ONE of the three selected issues flagged by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its 2023 Article IV Consultation with South Africa released last week, which includes separate in-depth analysis, not surprisingly is “Issues and Reform Options in Public Procurement”. The other two special issues for the government to grapple being “Social Grants and Employment” and “Carbon Pricing and Climate Mitigation Policy” – issues not priorities on the radar of most South Africans struggling to cope with the vagaries of surviving the pernicious cost-of-living crisis, especially food and fuel price inflation. Public procurement can be the bane of economies during ordinary times. Wastage, corruption through self-enrichment, fraud, patronage, cronyism, inadequate disclosure and transparency, lack of competition, ideology through rushed affirmative…

Heavy clashes and artillery fire erupted across Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, yesterday and residents reported air strikes soon after the end of a 24-hour ceasefire that had brought a brief lull to eight weeks of fighting between rival military factions. Witnesses said the fighting between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) was some of the heaviest for weeks, and included ground battles in the densely populated neighbourhood of Haj Youssef in Bahri, one of three adjoining cities, along with Khartoum and Omdurman, that make up the capital around the confluence of the River Nile. Just after the ceasefire expired, witnesses said clashes and artillery fire resumed in the north of Omdurman. They also reported clashes in southern and central Khartoum, and in Shambat along the Nile in Bahri…

TUNIS: The EU was considering more than €1 billion (R20bn) in aid for Tunisia to help develop its battered economy, rescue state finances and deal with a migration crisis, EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said yesterday. Speaking in Tunisia, she said €900 million in macrofinancial assistance, plus an immediate €150 million euros in budget support could be ready “as soon as the necessary agreement is found”. She said the EU would also provide Tunisia with €100 million for border management, search and rescue, and anti-smuggling operations. Von der Leyen also laid out a series of longer-term European efforts to help Tunisia’s economy. | AFP…

Mogadishu: At least nine people were killed and 10 others injured in an attack at a beach hotel in Mogadishu, the Somalian police confirmed at the weekend. Police said that security forces ended a seven-hour siege at Pearl Beach Hotel located inside Lido Beach after killing all the seven al-Shabaab fighters involved in Friday night’s attack. Police said 84 people, including children, women and elders who were trapped in the hotel, were safely rescued by the forces. Witnesses said two suicide bombers wearing explosive vests blew themselves up at the hotel entrance where hundreds of guests were seated. Al-Shabaab militants claimed the attack, saying its fighters targeted guests. | IANS…

Tehran: Iran’s supreme leader yesterday urged continued cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog. This, while warning against succumbing to “bullying” based on “unfounded claims”. “Cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) within the framework of safeguards regulations should be maintained,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said. Iran’s nuclear programme has long been the subject of scrutiny from Western powers. This resulted in sanctions that have crippled the country’s economy. | AFP…

From page 1 with the Department of Health, and discussions on implementation are ongoing.” He also said a similar approach would be followed for other critical infrastructure. “The implementation time is envisaged to take between 12 to 24 months, after the investment decision, depending on the type of solution and other factors such as environmental approvals and land acquisition.” Gordhan recently said the application to appeal against the exception judgment suspended the operation and execution of the High Court judgment pending the outcome of the current application. Gordhan also said Eskom continued its endeavours to provide whatever relief was possible, given the design of the grid that the hospital or essential service was connected to. He said his department did not consider itself liable for jeopardising the health rights…

WHEELCHAIR tennis athletes, Donald Ramphadi and Kgothatso Montjane have given South Africans reason to smile following their victories as Grand Slam champions in their respective divisions at the prestigious Roland Garros tournament in Paris. Ramphadi claimed the quads title and Montjane clinched victory in the women's doubles category at the weekend. Ranked number four globally, Ramphadi displayed immense resilience alongside his doubles partner, Andy Lapthorne from Britain. Overcoming a set deficit, they delivered a thrilling performance, defeating the second-seeded pair of Heath Davidson from Australia and Robert Shaw from Canada with a 1-6, 6-2, 10-3 victory to secure the quads doubles title. Ramphadi expressed his elation, saying: "It was truly nerve-wracking when we began, especially after losing the first set 6-1. “However, with an experienced partner like Lapthorne, who is…

GOVERNMENT has committed to supporting municipalities to improve waste management with the creation of 2 000 work opportunities per province for a period of 12 months. Forestry, Fisheries and Environment Minister Barbara Creecy said waste management was an area that was receiving considerable attention in this financial year. Creecy tabled her department’s budget vote speech in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) where she stated that the government would reinvigorate the Presidential Good Green Deeds programme to focus on cleaning and greening in provincial capitals. Western Cape areas that will benefit from this programme include Langa, Mitchells Plain, Khayelitsha, Elsies River, Mfuleni, Philippi and Bonteheuwel. Cities identified include Buffalo City, Nelson Mandela Bay, Ekurhuleni, and Polokwane. “Our programme will see the creation of 2 000 work opportunities per…

THE City’s Law Enforcement Animal Control Unit has impounded nearly 2 000 animals due to complaints and by-law violations in the past nine months. Between the period July 2022 and March 2023 the unit said it has had to deal with 1 926 animals, including dogs, cats and livestock. According to the City, this was a huge spike compared to the same period in the previous year where 554 animals were impounded. It has now urged the public to take responsibility to control animals in their care and also to ensure their well-being. The City’s chairperson for the portfolio committee on safety and security, Mzwakhe Nqavashe said the statistics were staggering and placed an immense burden on the Animal Control Unit. “This also (places a burden) on the animal welfare…

THE Ugandan president has enacted a law that makes it even more illegal for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI+) people to be who they identify as. The Anti-Homosexuality Act, among others, increases the already-criminalised life sentence for consensual same-sex between consenting adults and adds the death penalty for what is known as “aggravated homosexuality”. Additionally, it criminalises activities that supposedly support homosexuality and homosexuals, and carries a potential 20-year prison term. The act also explicitly states that it aims “to protect the traditional family” in Uganda, a traditional African nation, which criminalises and forbids same-sex couples, parents, and other individuals from starting families and having children. This conveys the notion that African LGBTQ+ people, specifically in Uganda, have no place in the families, communities, and other parts of…

Smoke from raging wildfires in Canada, which has already blanketed parts of the US and placed about 75 million people under alerts due to hazardous air, has reached as far as Norway, according to scientists. Over the past few days, plumes of smoke have stretched from Canada across Greenland, Iceland and made their way to Norway, scientists at the Climate and Environmental Research Institute in Norway (Nilu) said. They have been able to detect the increase in smoke using very sensitive instruments and then confirmed its origin using forecast modelling. People in Norway may be able to smell and even notice the smoke as a light haze but, unlike parts of the US that have seen hazardous pollution, they should experience no health impacts, said Nikolaos Evangeliou, a senior scientist…

Kyiv’s troops said yesterday they had recaptured a village from Russian forces in Ukraine’s south-east, the first liberated settlement they have claimed since launching a counterattack this week. Soldiers hoisted the Ukrainian flag at a bombed-out building in an unverified video published by Ukraine’s 68th Jaeger Brigade, identifying the settlement as Blahodatne in Donetsk region. “We’re seeing the first results of the counter-offensive, localised results,” said Valeryi Shershen, spokesperson for Ukraine’s “Tavria” military sector. He said the village lay on the edge of the Donetsk and Zaporizhzia regions a few kilometres south of the Kyiv-controlled village of Velyka Novosilka. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has given his strongest signal yet that Kyiv has launched its long-awaited counterattack to seize back land in the east and south, confirming “counteroffensive and defensive operations”…

Peshawar: Heavy rains followed by strong winds killed at least 27 people, including eight children, in north-west Pakistan, officials said yesterday. The storms hit four districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Saturday, with five siblings aged between 2 and 11 among the dead. At least 12 people were buried alive after the roofs and walls of their houses collapsed, the provincial disaster management authority said. More than 140 people were injured and more than 200 livestock died. Meanwhile, a cyclone is making its way across the Arabian Sea towards the coastlines of Pakistan and India, and is expected to make landfall at the end of the week. | AFP…

London: UK opposition leader Keir Starmer yesterday demanded a general election as three MPs from the ruling Conservative Party, including Boris Johnson, quit parliament following a probe into Covid-19 lockdown-breaking parties. Labour leader Starmer tweeted that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak “must finally find a backbone, call an election, and let the public have their say on 13 years of Tory failure”. Johnson, 58, announced he was leaving as a member of parliament, claiming he had been forced out in a stitch-up by his political opponents. By quitting, Johnson avoids the consequences of a humiliating fight to remain an MP in his Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency in north-west London where he holds a slim majority of just over 7 000. Speculation is rife about Johnson’s next move, and whether he…

NOVAK Djokovic created history yesterday when he captured a record-breaking 23rd men’s Grand Slam title with a third French Open triumph, reinforcing his case to be crowned the greatest player of all time. The 36-year-old Serb brushed off an early wobble to defeat Casper Ruud of Norway 7-6 (7/1), 6-3, 7-5 and snap the tie of 22 Slams he shared with career-long rival Rafael Nadal. "It's an incredible feeling to win 23. I'm beyond grateful and blessed to be standing here with so many incredible achievements," said Djokovic as Nadal immediately described his rival's victory as "an incredible achievement". Victory for the third time in Paris, after 2016 and 2021, adds to his 10 Australian Open titles, seven at Wimbledon and three at the US Open. Djokovic is the first…